- Israeli PM Netanyahu thanked Trump for support amid his corruption trial
- Netanyahu faces bribery, fraud, and breach of trust charges since 2019
- Trump called Netanyahu’s trial a political witch hunt and unfair
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked US President Donald Trump for extending support over the corruption trial against him, as he pleaded to "make the Middle East great again" with the American leader. This came after Trump once again lashed out at prosecutors in Israel over the corruption trial that Netanyahu has faced, saying Washington, having given billions of dollars worth of aid to Israel, was not going to "stand for this".
"Thank you again, Donald Trump. Together, we will make the Middle East Great Again," Netanyahu wrote in a post on X.
The Israeli Prime Minister was indicted in 2019 in Israel on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust -- all of which he denies. The trial began in 2020 and involves three criminal cases.
On Friday, an Israeli court rejected a request by Netanyahu's lawyers to delay his testimony for the next two weeks because of diplomatic and security matters following the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran this month. He is due to take the stand on Monday for cross-examination.
What Trump Said
Trump on Saturday (local time) defended Netanyahu and said his corruption trial was a "political witch hunt". In a post on Truth Social, he also said it was "terrible" what they are doing to Bibi, a nickname for the Israeli Prime Minister.
"It is INSANITY doing what the out-of-control prosecutors are doing to Bibi Netanyahu. He is a War Hero, and a Prime Minister who did a fabulous job working with the United States to bring Great Success in getting rid of the dangerous Nuclear threat in Iran," Trump said, asserting that the judicial process was going to interfere with Netanyahu's ability to conduct talks with Palestinian group Hamas, and Iran.
The 79-year-old noted that Netanyahu was in the process of negotiating a Deal with Hamas, which will include getting the Hostages back. "How is it possible that the Prime Minister of Israel can be forced to sit in a Courtroom all day long, over NOTHING (Cigars, Bugs Bunny Doll, etc)," he wrote.
He also called it a "political witch hunt" and said it was "very similar" to the one that he was "forced to endure". Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records in May 2024 in a case related to hush money payments to adult actress Stormy Daniels.
"This travesty of "Justice" will interfere with both Iran and Hamas negotiations. In other words, it is INSANITY doing what the out-of-control prosecutors are doing to Bibi Netanyahu," he said.
"The United States of America spends Billions of Dollar a year, far more than on any other Nation, protecting and supporting Israel. We are not going to stand for this," Mr Trump said."We just had a Great Victory with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu at the helm - And this greatly tarnishes our Victory. LET BIBI GO, HE'S GOT A BIG JOB TO DO," he added.
It was Trump's second post over the course of a few days defending Netanyahu and calling for the cancellation of the trial went a step further to tie Israel's legal action to US aid. On Thursday, Trump said he was "shocked" to hear that Israel, which is "strongly" led by Netanyahu, is continuing its "ridiculous" witch hunt against their "great wartime" Prime Minister.
